Vlad Shmunis Returns as RingCentral CEO
RingCentral Founder Vlad Shmunis has returned as its CEO four months after resigning from the post.
Tarek Robbiati left the role he only formally started on August 28 by mutual agreement, as of last Friday, December 3. RingCentral stated that Robbiati’s resignation isn’t because of any “disagreement with the Company or the Board or any matter relating to the Company’s operations, policies, or practices”.
Shmunis said:
We have a world-class team, battle-proven technology, and a clear roadmap with a large and untapped market opportunity ahead of us. I am fully committed to RingCentral and am confident in our ability to drive sustainable, profitable growth moving forward that is rooted in our core values of trust, innovation, and partnerships.”
Shmunis had been RingCentral CEO since founding the company 25 years ago, and after leaving the post in the summer, had transitioned to the role of Executive Chairman with a remit of driving RingCentral’s strategic product vision and innovation. Shmunis will remain Executive Chairman of the Board.
The shock news of Robbiati’s resignation so soon after his joining saw RingCentral’s stock fall 6.5 percent on the news, despite Shmunis’s return.
Microsoft, OpenAI Relationship Probed by UK Competition Regulator
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is probing Microsoft and OpenAI’s relationship.
The CMA has offered an Invitation to Comment to both tech companies, which is the first part of the CMA’s information-gathering initial review and is delivered prior to the launch of an official phase one investigation. The regulatory body is asking Microsoft, OpenAI, and any other relevant third party, whether “recent developments” have seen the partnership expand into a “relevant merger situation”.
“There have recently been a number of developments in the governance of OpenAI, some of which involved Microsoft,” the CMA’s statement wrote. “In light of these developments, the CMA is now issuing an ITC to determine whether the Microsoft/OpenAI partnership, including recent developments, has resulted in a relevant merger situation and, if so, the potential impact on competition.”
Microsoft has invested around $13 billion in OpenAI over the past four years, but the CMA’s probe specifically comes off the back of last month’s OpenAI saga, in which its CEO Sam Altman was ousted by its board before being reinstated just four days later following intense pressure from both employees and investors, with Microsoft subsequently attaining a nonvoting board position.
As a result of these developments and the manner in which they unfolded, the CMA says it will “review whether the partnership has resulted in an acquisition of control”.
NEC Launches UNIVERGE BLUE AI Assistant
NEC Corporation of America has introduced UNIVERGE BLUE AI ASSISTANT, which introduces generative AI technology to its UNIVERGE BLUE COMMUNICATIONS PLATFORM.
Powered by UNIVERGE BLUE PULSE, the new AI assistant’s generative AI capabilities allow users to quickly access information and automate repetitive, time-consuming tasks. The UNIVERGE BLUE AI Assistant can automate tasks from writing content and code to answering FAQs, translating text, and summarising information.
Marc Hebner, Senior Vice President, NEC Corporation of America, said:
The UNIVERGE BLUE AI Assistant, integrated with the UNIVERGE BLUE PULSE AI engine, is essential for delivering cutting-edge technology in intelligent communications. This addition underscores our commitment to ensuring our customers have the best tools available to maximize employee and customer experiences, ultimately contributing to their business success.”
According to NEC, privacy and security are central to the AI Assistant, meaning it does not store any data shared by users or any company information in the GenAI engine, nor does it use this information to train the AI engine.
EU Reaches Provisional Agreement on Landmark AI Law
The European Union (EU) has reached a provisional agreement on a landmark series of rules that will govern AI in Europe.
An agreement has been reached on what has been called the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), which will be the world’s first comprehensive set of rules to govern AI and may represent a benchmark for other governments and bodies considering AI regulatory laws.
“On Friday, Parliament and Council negotiators reached a provisional agreement on the Artificial Intelligence Act,” the EU’s statement wrote. “This regulation aims to ensure that fundamental rights, democracy, the rule of law and environmental sustainability are protected from high-risk AI while boosting innovation and making Europe a leader in the field. The rules establish obligations for AI based on its potential risks and level of impact.”
The agreement means AI systems have to meet certain regulatory benchmarks, including incident reports, risk assessments, and adversarial testing. It also enforces AI system transparency, mandating the production of technical documents and summaries detailing how user-generated content is leveraged for training AIs. EU citizens will also be granted the legal right to state complaints about AI systems with the right to receive explanations about “high-risk” decisions AI companies make with their systems.
